Reto Berra full marks for his first NHL regulation win as Flames top Islanders 4-2

Reto Berra and Lance Bouma of the Calgary Flames defend the net against Kyle Okposo of the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Photograph by: Paul Bereswill
, NHLI via Getty Images

LONG ISLAND — For Reto Berra, no extra time was required.

After excelling in overtimes and particularly shootouts, finally a win in regulation.

“People are talking about it, I guess,” shrugged Berra, tugging off his pads. “Every time I play, I just want the two points. No matter how long it takes. A win is a win.

“In Switzerland it would’ve been more of an issue because there you get three points for winning in 60 minutes and only two after. Like in soccer. Here, it’s all the same. Two points, however.

“But right now, yeah, I’m really happy. Maybe now people can stop talking about it.”

A Matt Stajan snooker shot, backed by the Swiss stopper’s 28-save goaltending performance, helped the Calgary Flames even their current road swing at 1-1 via a scrambly 4-2 decision at Nassau Coliseum.

“Know what, my parents actually had a snooker table when I was a kid,” confessed Stajan afterwards. “The one with the small pockets, right? But I can’t chalk this up to any great ability I showed.

“That’s just one of those plays you’re just trying to throw the puck in front, carom it off something, hope a teammate gets a stick on it. You see them every night in the NHL on the highlights. So it’s nice when you can actually score one yourself.”

Tapped by coach Bob Hartley despite the trip-opening loss to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, Berra — good throughout but brilliant through a one-sided first period — held his pals in it until they got untracked and stayed strong after the Isles had stormed back to equalize from two goals in arrears.

“We didn’t have a great first period and Reto was simply outstanding,” said Hartley. “He was the guy that kept us in the game.

“What I like, look at his game in Montreal. A tough loss, but we didn’t score a goal. Tonight, we needed this. Sometimes you need this on the road. For reasons you can’t explain, it seems to play a solid 60 minutes is tough to get. He bailed us out, we get a big road win and he got his first (regulation) win.

“It’s going to be great for his confidence and he deserves it.”

With the game seemingly heading into OT, Stajan banked the puck off Isles’ goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, trying desperately to hug tight to the near post, and in at 14:28 of the third period.

Then the suddenly trending Mikael Backlund found an empty New York net with but three ticks left on the scoreclock.

The Islanders had stormed back from a two-goal hole to equalize seven minutes earlier, their potent top line finally leaving its imprint, skipper John Tavares and the wantaway Thomas Vanek assisting on defenceman Calvin de Haan’s game-tying strike.

Typically, the Flames were unable to do anything the easy way, Jiri Hudler’s hooking penalty with 3:09 putting them under the gun one last time, Berra standing tall on a close-in jam attempt by Vanek at the side of his net.

As much as Berra, Calgary’s penalty kill was responsible for the W, blanking New York on five chances. By game’s end, the Flames were credited with 26 blocks, and many of those came with the Islanders a man to the good.

“We were unbelievable in PK,” praised Berra. “I had not many shots there. They had what? Five powerplays? But not many chances. Our guys were blocking like hell, again. Great job.”

“Especially in the third, I love the way we pressured,” echoed Hartley. “We had some big blocked shots, like Lance Bouma blocks a shot and clears the zone. That’s the commitment we want to build in this organization and that’s what we got tonight. They got a power play with three minutes to go and we did a great job.”

Apparently heading off with a thoroughly undeserved 2-0 lead (Berra withstanding), the Flames were caught napping, surrendering a late one, with only 6.1 seconds left in the second. Powering to the net, Josh Bailey was cut off at the pass by Berra, but the puck squirted out to defenceman Thomas Hickey, sprinting into the play, and he cashed the chance.

Not even Berra, in superb form, had a hope in the hereafter of clawing back to push that shot out lying helplessly on his side.

Even though the game had settled down after a punishing flurry of first-period pressure by the Isles, the visitors, out of nowhere, had grabbed the two-goal advantage.

First, that opportunistic 19-year-old Sean Monahan golfed a shot from the high slot off iron, Ping!, and in behind Nabokov after a rising Kris Russell point shot had failed to get through the thicket of bodies in front of Nabokov. It was the rookie’s 16th of the season.

Then, good hustle by Jiri Hudler to keep the puck inside the zone at the point eventually wound up on the stick of Dennis Wideman and he drilled a beebee high and over a flailing Nabokov, with Hickey serving a minor for holding the stick, in the offensive zone.

Those goals, less than four minutes apart and very much against the run of play, shocked the modest gathering at Nassau Coliseum.

Berra, at least, arrived ready for combat at the scheduled time, spitting back all 11 first-period shots pelted at him.

Right off the hop, New York centre Frans Neilsen, stationed as the side of the Calgary net, set up winger Michael Grabner for one-timer. Save Berra. In short order, the Swiss puck-stopper flicked his right pad at a dangerous Matt Martin chance and, the height of thievery, absolutely stymied Vanek, causing the shocked Austrian Olympian to let loose with the official (four-letter) word of the National Hockey League.

The Flames, now 1-1 on this three-game pre-Olympic break junket, wind up their journey with a matinee at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday.

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